Merry Christmas

I realise I haven't been posting this week but I have been very busy! Unfortunately it didn't involve ANY crafting! We have just bought a house which is conditional on us selling our house by the end of February so we have been doing stuff around the house getting it ready to sell etc. Isn't it funny how things that you have wanted done for AGES suddenly get done when you want to move! Go figure!
It also means we have to take down the Christmas tree and all the decorations on Boxing Day as we can't have the decorations in the photographs. Luckily I hadn't done any of the decorations - my daughter did it and she didn't go over board! One thing I did do was cleaned out my craft room (again!) lol I now have all the curtains open and it looks great! Pity I wont be able to have a play in for much! I will try and post anything I do get a chance to make! I will also keep you updated with how the sale of the house is going.

I would like to wish you all the best for this festive season. I hope you have the people who are special to you with you sometime over the next week or so, and that 2011 is a wonderful year for you. I would also like to thank all the wonderful people who leave lovely comments on my blog as they have often lifted me when I needed it the most! Also I want to acknowledge the amazing crafters who share their work for all of us to 'ooo' and 'aaaa' over, get inspired from and generally motivate us - we can only hope that one day we would be as talented as you are!!

Merry Christmas!

well we had to have a girl legs one too!!

so here she is. I am a BIG fan of RED shoes so that was what led this design. They are soooooo fun to make - I can't wait to make more hehe. This is Real Red and Whisper White, I used the small circle punch from the Itty Bitty punch pack in the new Summer Mini for the buttons and the 1 1/4" circle punch for the baubles on the shoes. The rest is just hand cut.
I got the inspiration to do these from a card I saw Valita Reynolds made - go check it out here

what a yummy set of elf legs!!

I have been having a ball playing with these skinny cello bags and when I saw these Christmas Jellybeans at The Warehouse today I knew straight away what I was going to do with them! Aren't they just a hoot! I freehand cut the shorts and the shoes from Garden Green cardstock and used my white gel pen to do stitching etc. Then using the Delightful Decorations stamp set I made the 'baubles' on the toes of the shoes from one of the little stamps - it says 'MERRY CHRISTMAS'. And just to finish off I used some of the scrummy ribbon from last months promotion.
Hope the silly season isn't stressing you out too much, I find shoppers are very grumpy at the mo which is such a shame as it is just a great time of year - esp. when there are funny things like these legs around!! Hope when you go shopping that the car park is calm and the till queues are short!

the rules of chocolate!!

this cool gift card box - yes it's a card that holds a king size bar of chocolate inside it! - was made by Sandra Mason who is my swap sister for the 12 days of Christmas over on Crafters Anonymous site. We had a theme for every day and yesterday was day three and the theme was 'something yummy' - well Sandra knew I am a CHOCOHOLIC so she created this cool card box. Inside are a list of the 'rules of chocolate' which I have typed out below - they are all PERFECT!! You would be surprised that the chocolate is currently in my fridge due to the hot weather (today it's 27oC here in Auckland with humidity ruining just below 100%!) and I haven't started on it - YET! lol tell me which one you like best!

here are the rules:

*1 if you've got melted chocolate on your hands then you're eating it too slowly!
*2 Chocolate covered raisins, cherries, orange slices, apricots & strawberries all count as fruit so eat as much as you want.
*3 Problem: How to get 2 pounds of chocolate home from the store in a hot car? Solution: Eat it all in the parking lot
*4 Diet Tip: Eat a chocolate bar before each meal. It will take the edge off your appetite and you'll eat less!
*5 a nice box of chocolates can provide your total daily intake of calories in one place - now isn't that handy!
*6 if you can't eat all of your chocolate, it will keep in the freezer, however - if you can't eat all of your chocolate at once there must be something wrong with you. Call your doctor!!
*7 if you eat an equal amount of dark chocolate and white chocolate, it's considered a balanced diet!
*8 exercise is a dirty word - every time you hear it wash your mouth out with chocolate!
*9 if not for chocolate there would be no need for control top pantyhose - an entire garment industry would be devastated - so eat more!
*10 there is no such organisation as Chocoholics Anonymous because no one wants to quit.
*11 put 'eat chocolate' at the top of your 'to do' list TODAY!! That way, you'll get at least one thing on your list done!!
*12 we aren't meant to deal with life alone - that's why God created chocolate - EAT HEARTY!!

gift tags

here is a pile of gift tags that I made to go on all the presents we are giving at Christmas. There are about 24 of them! I used Basic Black card stock and cut three cards from an A4 sheet. Folded them in half and embossed the front with the Petals-a-plenty Stampin' Up! Big Shot embossing folder. I then spritzed them with mainly silver but used some gold as well. I cut out the snow flakes with the Christmas die for the Big Shot and have coated them in Dazzling Diamonds and finshed with a stick on diamond (love these from Stampin' Up!). The stamp is from Season of Joy (stamped in Basic Black on Whisper White cards stock) and I used the scallop oval punch to punch it out. All very basic but effective I think. But I must say after making that many of them I got over them VERY quickly! lol

stamp sets for sale!

I still have a few stamp sets etc left from when the new Idea's Book and Catalogue came out in Spring. I can post to where ever and can accept cash (with collection only), bank transfer or credit card (Visa or Mastercard) so email me julia.leece@slingshot.co.nz if you can give one of these awesome sets a new home!

NAME WHERE FROM PRICE
All used to some degree (From IB & C 09-10 unless stated otherwise)
-Big Bold Birthday pg 42 $50 -
-Botanical Blooms IB & C 08-09 $20 -
-Occasionally pg 30 $40 -
-Spring Solitude IB & C 08-09 $20 -
-Party Punch IB & C 08-09 $20 -
-Good Friends pg 99 $35 -
-Frames with a Flourish pg 100 $60 -
-Be Happy IB & C 08-09 $25 -
New Items:
-Happy Moments - SAB 2010 $20
-Sweet Little Sentiments pg 18 $20
-Vintage Labels SAB 2010 $20
Designer Series Paper – unopened packets
Autumn Traditions Winter Mini 10 $10

reindeer noses

nothing us New Zealanders love more are Jaffa's!! These little orange candies with chocolate insides become even more special at Christmas as they turn into reindeer noses! These reindeer tubes are a fun gift to have for kids - of any ages. I used Soft Suede and the Owl punch to make the reindeer and the leaves from the bird punch for the antlers, one lot in Soft Suede and one in Chocolate Chip.

I hope you get to enjoy some of these red beauties some time during this holiday season!

Happy Birthday Bron

Tomorrow is my friend Bron's birthday - so this is the card I made just for her. Bron is a talented crafter and does clean crisp cards so well - so I thought I would try and have a go at her style (and her colours!). I used my much loved tri fold shutter card design and kept the colours to the current In Colours - Poppy Parade, Concord Crush & Blushing Bride. The DSP is the Hostess 6X6 paper pack. The sentiment is again from favourite set Word Play - YOU MUST GET THIS SET!! it's so useful! And as Bron is a star I had to include them in the card - using the star punch and the star stamp from the brand new set - Itty Bitty Bits.

So as you have seen all the birthday cards I've been making lately are you wishing it was your birthday? If you are like me and have months till it is your birthday - you should shout yourself a 'non birthday pressy'!! Either the awesome Word Play stamp set or maybe something from the awesome DECEMBER FRENZY sale. Email me julia.leece@slingshot.co.nz for more info.

and again HAPPY BIRTHDAY BRON!! xx

another birthday card!

we are going thru a run of birthdays at the moment - I had two on the weekend and today is my brothers partners birthday - you may remember the 'Jackie' card a few weeks ago. And then on Thursday my son's girlfriend Lisette has her 16th birthday. So today's card is her birthday card from us - she isn't a girly girl so no 'sweet 16 things' or flowers, or shoes or stuff like that. But I wanted a card that showed her strong personality and her desire to succeed. She is an amazing author so that's why I choose the DSP from the Naturals Family pack with the writing. Plus the sentiment is exactly what we would wish for her.

I used my favourite stamp set Word Play again - so loving that stamp, esp. when stamped in different colours. The colours on this is In Colour Pear Pizazz and Early Espresso, with Whisper White. The new embossing folder adds great texture to the card too, along with the Early Espresso thin ribbon and tiny pearls.

I could of done a 'Beatles' card as she is a big FAN bit that was going to be a huge challenge LOL

I have ANOTHER friends birthday on Thursday too so hopefully I can post her card on here tomorrow as I posted it to her today so she should get it tomorrow hee hee - can't have her seeing it on line before in real life! lol

special journals

these three books I made for my niece for Christmas. She's just turned 16 and loves writing and taking notes. I used the Speciality DSP Cocoa Christmas that was available only last month. I covered some heavy card with the DSP and then lined the back of the card with the paper I was using inside the book. Then I used the Bind-it-all to bind the sides on the big one and the top of the middles size one. For the round scallop one I used the Stampin' Up! Scallop Circle and the Big Shot machine. I put a heap of sheets thru at a time - which is the beauty of the Big Shot - up to 8 layers. I added a bit of taffeta ribbon in Real Red and they were nearly done.

On the round one I used the Tiny Tags set and the matching tag punch to just add the word 'friend' and on the middle one I used the Word Play set for the 'Imagine the possibility' embellishment. For the big one I wanted to the leave the outside plain, so she can use it for what ever she sees fit but I did put the stamp from Word Play 'go confidently in the direction of your dreams" as I thought it would be like a secret wish from me to her.

a little bit cheeky

Yesterday was my wedding anniversary. Craig and I have been married for 22 years now, wow how time flies! worked out that since I was 21 when we got married (oh no, just told you how old I am! hehe) I have been married longer than not married now!

Anyway, since my hubby has a great sense of humour and with me on steroids due to health issues I thought I would make him one of these bra cards. Aren't they just a hoot! I am sure one day many moons ago I might of looked like this but certainly don't now! lol And I don't have a tatoo either!

This idea has been going around the net for a while but I recently saw a card by Louise Hopman and was inspired to make one. Well actually I made 3 - two of my close friends have birthdays at this time, Yvonne who was one of my bridesmaid (and is husbands cousin) has her birthday today and Christine who is the first friend I made when I shifted from Gisborne to Auckland at 16 has her birthday tomorrow. So they got bra cards too! Here's a pic of Yvonne's card, but I forgot to take a picture of the one I gave Christine.

Don't forget to put your entry in for the ribbon I am giving away for the cards with wreaths on them. Add a comment to the thread below linking back to your wreath and you will be in the draw for the pile of ribbon!

Christmas Stick

Here is another sample of the skinny cello bags - this time a Christmas theme. I used the awesome WORD PLAY stamp set which is one of my favourites! Traditional colours of Garden Green and Riding Hood Red - I used the extra large circle punch and the circle die for the Stampin' Up! Big Shot for the outer two rings. I popped the bauble up on the word 'JOY' with a diamentional after I had added some colour with the Garden Green marker pen.

These would make awesome teachers gifts or small extras with cards for friends or even for kids to give each other. You could make them with names on as place settings/favours for Christmas dinner.

I have other lollies bagged up awaiting toppers - might be able to get them done today as instead of going out and visiting friends like planned I will have to spend the day at home with sick child who has been unwell all night! She is upset too as she was supposed to go on her 'big day out' end of year trip to Rainbows End today! Poor thing, a trip to the doctor is no where as exciting! Dad doesn't mind as he will take her to Rainbows End during the holidays - didn't take much convincing to do that! lol Some kids just never grow up!

Come back tomorrow to see the cool if not cheeky anniversary card I've made for my wonderful husband!

strips of yumminess!!

aren't these fun! I have been wanting to use my Make a Monster set for ages and so when I got these skinny cello bags I new it would be perfect. I used the Word Play set for the left one and the Lots of Bots set for the other. I tried to match the card stock to the colour of the M&Ms. These are all the lollies they had on one of those small bags of M&Ms except of all the red and green ones which I will show you tomorrow.

DON'T FORGET to check out the super December Frenzy promo which I have listed in the last post - and if you want to get things before Christmas you will need to contact me before next Tuesday to ensure you will have it in time! Don't forget I can also to vouchers so if your loved ones are wanting to get you Stampin' Up! products but not sure which ones then this is the thing for you. Just get them to email me julia.leece@slingshot.co.nz and I can sort it out for them, I can do credit card payments thru Paymate or Paypal too.

DECEMBER FRENZY SUPER SALE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Can you believe these super specials Stampin' Up! has just released!!!! These are ONLY available till the 29th December so contact me TODAY!! julia.leece@slingshot.co.nz

Item Pg Description Retail Price Sale Price
119181 39 A Little Treat Wood-Mount Stamp Set $26.95 $13.48 -50% off
120018 39 A Little Treat Clear-Mount Stamp Set $21.95 $10.98 -50% off
119189 40 Tote-Ally Tess Wood-Mount Stamp Set $45.95 $32.17
111255 43 Daisy Dash Jumbo Stampin’ Around Wheel $19.50 $11.70
121482 56 Baby Bundle Wood-Mount Stamp Set $59.95 $41.95
119161 72 Autumn Days Wood-Mount Stamp Set $46.95 $23.48 - 50% off
120012 77 Pendant Park Clear-Mount Stamp Set $36.95 $18.48 - 50% off
113031 88 Tart & Tangy Wood-Mount Stamp Set $26.95 $18.87
115806 91 Fresh Cuts Wood-Mount Stamp Set $46.95 $32.87
115946 102 Wonderful Favorites Wood-Mount Stamp Set $47.95 $28.77
119167 104 Heard from the Heart Wood-Mount Stamp Set $46.95 $28.17
119185 105 Teeny Tiny Sentiments Wood-Mount Stamp Set $75.95 $37.98 -50% off
105115 118 Pumpkin Pie Stampin’ Write Marker $6.95 $4.17
105106 119 Certainly Celery Stampin’ Write Marker $6.95 $4.17
100045 119 Pretty in Pink Stampin’ Write Marker $6.95 $4.17
105114 119 So Saffron Stampin’ Write Marker $6.95 $4.17
105111 119 Bashful Blue Stampin’ Write Marker $6.95 $4.17
105108 119 Regal Rose Stampin’ Write Marker $6.95 $4.17
105109 120 Bravo Burgundy Stampin’ Write Marker $6.95 $4.17
100069 120 Night of Navy Stampin’ Write Marker $6.95 $4.17
100082 121 Basic Black Stampin’ Write Marker $6.95 $4.17
103104 122 Small Cello Bags $9.25 $5.55
111325 140 Styled Silver Hodgepodge Hardware $70.50 $35.25 - 50% off
112530 140 Circle Scissor Plus $67.95 $40.70
116681 161 Kind Heart Wood-Mount Stamp Set $14.50 $7.25 - 50% off

Wreath challenge

One of my clients came up with this idea for a wreath at today's class. She was at the other end of the table than me and I told her to use the bird punch to punch our the leaves, so she punched out what she thought were the leaves - but they were in fact the wings. But Vicky being Vicky wasn't going to let that small issue get in the way and she created this beautiful wreath card. Isn't it great! Just had to share.

So far that's 5 versions - my challenge to you is to come up with other wreath ideas! I have a prize for someone, all you need to do is post a comment on this post with a link back to your blog and we will do a random draw in two weeks 15 December 2010. The prize will be a ribbon sample pack -which will contain an assortment of wonderful lengths of the gorgeous Stampin' Up! ribbons. So get your thinking caps on and start creating! If you have already made one then that will qualify too, just link that post on the comment section too. This is open to anyone, I will post to any country.

I can't wait to see them!!

last but not least

Isn't it amazing how many different ways you can make wreaths? This one is using the Boho Flower punch and the red bits are the eyes from the Owl punch. The ribbon is the new thin taffeta ribbon in Real Red. To make the door I stamped the Soft Suede with the Woodgrain stamp then scored it at 1.5cm intervals and in the scores I used the Soft Suede marker pen (fine end) and drew a line which just gave it the bit more depth. The door handle is one for the new punches from the new SUMMER MINI that has gone live today!
Contact me julia.leece@slingshot.co.nz today for you copy to be send out or go to the Stampin' Up! website where you can view it on line. www.stampinup.co.nz I will post a link on my blog for it and the amazing December Frenzy sale as soon as possible.

If you are free this afternoon or tonight come up to Albany and you can make any two of these door and wreath cards for a tiny cost of $15 which also includes home baking (and crafting with pineapple lumps cause that's the way I roll! lol)